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Apple to Provide Developers With Vision Pro Development Kits

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Apple's Vision Pro headset is the company's first new product category since the Apple Watch, and it is unlike any other Apple device. It runs an operating system called visionOS, and developers will need to create augmented and virtual reality apps specifically for the headset.

Apple-Vision-Pro-glass.jpg

To ensure that there are a wide selection of experiences available at launch, Apple plans to provide Apple Vision Pro developer kits to developers at some point in the future.

Apple says that developer kits will be offered to help developers bring their creations to life on Vision Pro, and that they will offer the ability to quickly build, iterate, and test on the headset. Developers will be able to apply to get a kit, but Apple hasn't offered details on when the kits will be made available.

The last developer kit that Apple offered was a Mac mini with an Apple silicon chip inside in 2020, and it was provided to developers to help them transition from Intel to Apple silicon. Apple sold the Mac mini machines for $500, but developers had to return them at the end of the testing program.

Apple will likely require developers to purchase an Apple Vision Pro headset to create apps for it, but the purchase price will include access to beta software, developer labs, discussion forums, technical support, and other resources if the Apple Vision Pro development kit is similar to the Apple silicon development kit.

Along with Apple Vision Pro developer kits, Apple says that it will offer Apple Vision Pro compatibility evaluations for existing apps and opportunities for developers to visit a Vision Pro developer lab that provides demonstrations of visionOS, iPadOS, and iOS apps running on the headset. Labs will be available in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.

More information on these tools for developing content for the Vision Pro headset will be available in July. The visionOS SDK will be available later this month.

Article Link: Apple to Provide Developers With Vision Pro Development Kits
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/apple-vision-pro-developer-kits/
That has been rumored like last week and given we won’t be able to buy one for another 9 months or so this makes total sense
 
How will developers test the software they design with the kits? Will they be provided a Vision Pro?

Ooops! Never mind. I didn't read the whole article. If they get their hands on a Vision Pro then being a developer for Vision Pro could be worth a lot.
 
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klasma said:
The keynote did show full virtual environments, so it should be possible. The lack of controllers might limit the types of VR games.
Click to expand...
would be cool to connect a controller, but I wanted it to be more like the quest where you get full VR experiences, it seems just like a big screen ar headset
 
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Remember when the iPhone was being introduced and folks like Steve Ballmer mocked it for not having a keyboard? Now folks are mocking Vision Pro for no controller? Come on folks Apple has proven that you don't need the conventional stuff always.
 
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I don’t understand why this thing needs to have all of its own apps developed for it. They missed a huge opportunity here by not having it just run iPad apps, and Mac apps. All those would need is a minor tweak to allow the different user interface.
 
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anselpela said:
I don’t understand why this thing needs to have all of its own apps developed for it. They missed a huge opportunity here by not having it just run iPad apps, and Mac apps. All those would need is a minor tweak to allow the different user interface.
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It can run iOS apps, but just like iOS apps on Mac, developers can block them from running on the Vision Pro.

IMG_4659.jpeg
 
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coolbreeze2 said:
Remember when the iPhone was being introduced and folks like Steve Ballmer mocked it for not having a keyboard? Now folks are mocking Vision Pro for no controller?
Click to expand...
And yet Apple sells keyboards for the iPads, and has retracted the Touch Bar. Wouldn't be surprised if we'll see VR controllers in the Apple Store at some point.
 
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anselpela said:
I don’t understand why this thing needs to have all of its own apps developed for it. They missed a huge opportunity here by not having it just run iPad apps, and Mac apps. All those would need is a minor tweak to allow the different user interface.
Click to expand...
I believe they said in the presentation that iOS apps would be able to run inside it (obviously not fully enhanced for the 3D environment automatically, but in a floating window pane).
 
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anselpela said:
I don’t understand why this thing needs to have all of its own apps developed for it. They missed a huge opportunity here by not having it just run iPad apps, and Mac apps. All those would need is a minor tweak to allow the different user interface.
Click to expand...
My impression was that it will run Apple apps at launch and for iPad and Mac apps developed by outside developers, developers probably only need some tweeks using the kits which are provided for free.
 
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